Weoley Castle is the remains of a fortified manor house located in the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

district of

Weoley Castle Weoley Castle is a residential suburban district in south-west Birmingham, England. The area is part of the Weoley local authority electoral ward, and also comes under the Northfield local council constituency. The suburb of Weoley Castle is ...

, a primarily residential area, in the English

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

. Owned by

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom ...

and administered as a community museum by Birmingham Museums Trust, it is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and a

Scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. The castle was on

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...

, but was removed in 2009 following repair work.

History

The archaeological evidence suggests a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

foundation for the site which was surrounded by a moat and bank topped by a timber palisade. Roger de Somery obtained a licence in 1264 to crenellate Weoley Castle and a 1422 survey gives a plan of the building. Early 13th century wooden buildings have been discovered at the site, probably dating to around 1264, indicating an early use of both horizontal and vertical weatherboarding. By the 17th century, Weoley Castle was noted as a '' (ruined castle) and it was no longer in use by then. Also around the same time a farmhouse was built where the education room is now. The brick wall along the right hand arm of the moat and a few apple trees are all that now remain of the farm. During the 18th century the

Dudley Canal The Dudley Canal is a canal passing through Dudley in the West Midlands of England. The canal is part of the English and Welsh connected network of navigable inland waterways, and in particular forms part of the popular Stourport Ring narrowboat ...

was dug along the northern boundary and the spoil was dumped in the moat. Stone from the ruin was used in the construction of canal bridges. At some point in the 19th century, the ruins were owned by Joseph Ledsam, a local businessman and deputy chairman of the London and North Western Railway.

References

External links

Weoley Castle Ruins
Official website

– Educational teaching sessions and resources at Weoley Castle

– fun and games for children based on Weoley Castle {{Birmingham buildings Structures formerly on the Heritage at Risk register Houses in the West Midlands (county) Grade II listed buildings in Birmingham Archaeological sites in the West Midlands (county) Tourist attractions in the West Midlands (county) Ruins in the West Midlands (county) Castles in the West Midlands (county) Grade II listed houses Scheduled monuments in the West Midlands (county) Birmingham Museums Trust